Statistics -> Debt in Selected Countries
Debt in Selected Countries
The table below shows the total debt as a % of GDP, and debt per person in selected countries for 2011. The information is gathered from sources which are listed below the table.
What is the significance of these numbers?
The government gross debt is used as an indicator of the financial stability of the country.
Once the government gross debt nears 100% of GDP, financial alarm bells start to ring, and purchasers of that country's debt (t-bills, bonds) may demand higher interest rates. This has happened in 2011 with Portugal, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, and Greece. Another factor affecting the interest rates is the amount of debt held by citizens of the country, vs the amount of debt held outside of the country.
Japan is an example where 95% of the debt is held by its own citizens, which helps stabilize their debt market.
The US debt has now reached 100% of GDP, and their debt was downgraded in August 2011 by Standard & Poor's (S&P) to AA+ from AAA. AAA is the highest rating.
| Debt as % of GDP | Total Debt | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Gov't Gross Debt |
Personal Gross Debt |
Total Debt |
GDP 2011 $trillions |
Population 2011 millions |
$trillions | per person $US |
| Japan | 233% | 77% | 310% | $5.8 | 126.5 | $18.0 | $142,672 |
| Ireland | 109% | 123% | 232% | 0.2 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 109,706 |
| United States(1) | 100% | 92% | 192% | 15.2 | 313.1 | 29.2 | 93,376 |
| Canada(2) | 84% | 97% | 181% | 1.7 | 34.4 | 3.1 | 91,409 |
| United Kingdom | 81% | 101% | 182% | 2.5 | 62.4 | 4.5 | 72,097 |
| Greece | 166% | 71% | 237% | 0.3 | 11.4 | 0.7 | 64,523 |
| France | 87% | 61% | 148% | 2.8 | 63.1 | 4.1 | 64,517 |
| Italy | 121% | 50% | 171% | 2.2 | 60.8 | 3.7 | 61,351 |
| Germany | 83% | 60% | 143% | 3.5 | 82.2 | 5.0 | 61,212 |
| Spain | 67% | 87% | 154% | 1.5 | 46.5 | 2.3 | 49,171 |
| Portugal | 106% | 106% | 212% | 0.2 | 10.7 | 0.5 | 46,788 |
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook Database for April 2022 the government gross debt for 2021 for:
(1) the United States is 132.6% of GDP.
(2) Canada is 112.1% of GDP.
Notes:
 | All amounts are in US$. |
| The government gross debt includes all levels of government. |
| Corporate debt and bank debt are not included in the debt totals. |
| The last column shows the debt per person, not per household. The total debt for a family of 4 in Canada would be $365,636. |
| We confirmed with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, quoted as a source for the IMF information) that the Canada debt includes Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Local governments, and the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans, and does not include financial or non-financial public corporations. |
Information sources:
| IMF Global Financial Stability Report (version published September 2011) - Debt as % of GDP, except Canada personal gross debt, which was not included in the report. |
| Statistics Canada Household Sector Indicators - Canada personal gross debt (2nd qtr 2011) |
| IMF World Economic Outlook Database, April 2011 - GDP 2011 |
| United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Population 2011 from Total Population - Both Sexes, Medium Estimates |
Tax Tip: Reduce your own debt, and pressure your government to reduce its debt.
Revised: October 26, 2023